Discuss the fun task of marketing a t-shirt shop. Where to advertise, link building, word of mouth, press releases, search engine marketing, keyword advertising, magazines, etc.
I'm not sure if this thread will help anyone but I would like to share some of the things that I learned to prepare for a photo shoot. I had an outdoor shoot for two tops that we will soon have printed. We just had some samples done for the shoot.
1. Meeting your model
We had promised the model that we would pick here up from here house. Since she knew that area better than we did it would have been better to have a central meeting place to save time.
2. The model's apperance
She needed her nails done and we needed to find some little shorts for her. These things should have been taken care of the days before the shoot but we decided to do the day of. We spent about an hour trying to find a nail shop on an early Sunday morning. Jake sure your model's hair , nails, makeup and outfits are already taken care of in advance. Also schedule a time for the fitting of outfits.
Our model did here own makeup and had a nice jean skirt and heels of her own. We supplied the transportation, nails,eyebrow waxing, tees to model, food, and a skimpy pair of shorts.
3. Location
We decided to look for some graffiti walls for our background. We finally found some after about an hour of searching but repeated had to stop since it was being used to recorded a rap video also. Make sure you know your location in advance.
4. Outfit Changing
Where will your model change? Sadly, our model had to change in the truck and strip down to some tiny shorts in the middle of the street and I do mean in the middle of the street.
5. Poises
Try to have in mind what type of poises your looking for. A good photographer will be able to coach the model. Usually models have a standard set of poises but it doesn't hurt to take the model out of his or her comfort zone.
7. Photos
I got my photos from the photographer unedited on disk. Some photographers will photoshop the photos for you if you ask. The model and the photographer will use some of the photos on their sites but the majority will be used by my company.
It was a lot of fun for me and everyone was in good sprits. The only problem was that I did not prepare for the shoot in advance. The shoot was suppose to take 1 to 2 hours. It was more like 6 hours long.
Anyway I hope that some of you get something out of this and have as much fun and excitement as I did on my first tshirt photo shoot.
Id also like to see how the shoot went....we use some "models" as well...but mostly drinking buddies...so often times its less than professional out there.
We are also about to launch our ladies line soon...so Id love to see how these were shot....
Hopefully Rodney give the tup on posting a few from the shoot as examples....
Usually photoshoots do take approximately 6-8 hours with or without preparation. I've done 2 photoshoots. One of them was a 2 look shot which lasted 5 hours in the studio.
Thanks for posting the photos! That's a good point about the logo not being fully visible in the shot. Especially if you're going to use them as the main product shots for your website.
I am just getting started in the clothing industry but I am at the point now where I have to get some models to show off my clothes but the question I have for you is, what do you usually pay for a model and photographer?
No reflector was used. Some of the pics needed on but again we or rather I did not take the time to prepare properly. Her look is kinda clean cut. She is more eye candy than anything. Mainly we will have mothly models which will lead to other merchandising opportunities. Our main customers are men. We will have actual graffiti artist for the male clothing shoots. Most photographers charge around $150 an hour. I personally know the one that I used so it was free. You can always call an photography school or class and see if someone whats to build their book by working for a discounted price. I offered the model $100 for the day and she accepted. She is just beginning to model. Since I paid for her nails and eyebrows it cost me a total of $185 for her. The model that I am trying to get now has been in some music videos so she will cost me $500 per day.
Basically offer what you want and see who bites.
Hope I can be of help. I am a tshirt designer but also a photographer. I have contracted shoots with FHM and Maxim so I have some tips.
My #1 Tip is DO NOT PAY YOUR MODELS if you are just starting. Only PAY YOUR MODELS IF YOU KNOW FOR A FACT YOU WILL GET A RETURN. It's just like advertising, never pay for advertising based on a push, only pay for advertising based on a pull.
When starting madpoison dot com, I found hundreds and hundreds of girls that were flat out gorgeous to shoot for free. They needed their own portfolio and for them to hire a photographer would cost $500 at least not including getting the photos mastered. If you need help finding models, let me know. Our site is currently down but visit it to see the type of girls we get to shoot for free. I guarantee they are smoking hot. Just recently I started finding my models on myspace and again, they shoot for free. On my new venture, I'm shooting new models to wear tshirts that were winners in the contest at qlbdesigns dot com. I can post pics if anyone is interested.
My First Tshirt Photo Shoot 
Re: My First Tshirt Photo Shoot 
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